washed up on beach

[Bigcypresshunter]

I found this washed up on the beach of one of the 1715 wreck sites after hurricane Wilma. Looks like silver...is not magnetic... very corroded with coral and who knows what else growing on it. I will try electrolysis when our electric is restored. What could it be?

 

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[JakePhelps]

It could be a ton of things could be zinc, tin or aluminum, they all looks sorta like that. How thick is it?

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Jake, It's not aluminium...looks like silver...tests show lead or tin. I made a mix of potassium dichromate and nitric acid. A drop on silver coin turns red. A drop on this unidentified item turns yellow. which means lead or tin.
Maybe electrolysis will reveal something. If not it is just another piece of shipwreck junk.

 

[lonewolfe]

Flying saucer part

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Flying saucer part

lonewolf, that's funny and I don't blame you for joking by the looks of my pic. If I found it anywhere else, I would not even bend over to pick it up. But at Rio Mar, I knew it had to come from the 1715 shipwreck. Looking over a list of artifact finds from the Rio Mar wrecksite, I noticed something called lead sheathing. http://www.imacdigest.com/2001rep/143.html
I looked up sheathing in my 1895 Cyclopaedia. It says: "sheathing is a protection for the wooden planking of the immersed portion of a ship from the attacks of the teredo and other worms, mollusks, and marine animals,which, esp. in hot climates, adhere to the bottom and eat into the timber...As early as the time of Trajan sheets of lead were used as sheathing. Thin deal boards were nailed on and frequently changed; but about the commencement of the present century(1800) plates of copper were introduced."
It may be worthless, but it appears to be lead sheathing from the Nuestra Senora del Carmen. Maybe electrolysis will show something. There appears to be wood grain on part of it. And large timbers washed up on the beach may have also been from this galleon. One was covered with black tar of some type, but I took no pics.
If the modern salvager's metal detectors missed this large metal artifact- then there is still much to be found. 8)

 

[Southcacalaky]

Interesting, Let us know, Art...

 

[JakePhelps]

Thats cool if it is from one of the wrecks! To see if its Al ot tin try rubbing it on a piece of paper or porcelain to see if it leaves the characteristic grey lead line.